1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to knife handles. Specifically this invention relates to ergonomic knife handles. More specifically, this invention relates to an ergonomic poultry knife and handle.
2. Background and Discussion of the Prior Art
The art attempted to design knives with easy to grip handles. Examples of such knife handles are shown in FIGS. 1A-1B; 2A-2B, 3A-3B, 4A-4B and 5A-5B (Prior Art 1-5 handles). Prior Art 1-5 handles were less than fully successful attempts at providing for thumb and index finger engaging surfaces as well as closed palm engaging surfaces for support and comfort particularly in repetitive use. These diverse attempts did not provide the desired ergonomic effect and comfort, and particularly in protracted repetitive poultry operations.
Poultry operators in particular would grip the handle and place their thumb on the right or left side of the handle, depending on their being right or left handed, in their quest for improved comfort, support and control.
While Prior Art 1-5 handles provided some comfort and improvement in use, the poultry operator""s hand and wrist became unduly fatigued with repetitive use. In particular, Prior Art 1-5 handles did not provide adequate universal support and protection for the thumb. Some prior art handles did not provide sufficient thumb and index finger protection so that with fatigue the thumb would tend to slide off the handle and engage the knife blade.
The art sought a poultry knife and handle which ergonomically relieved stress and reduced hand and wrist fatigue with repetitive use. Specifically, the art desired a handle as aforesaid which ergonomically accommodated the poultry operator""s index finger, thumb and palm, and also universally ergonomically accommodated and protected the thumb and index finger regardless of the direction in which the operator""s thumb was positioned, and particularly so with extended repetitive use.
The ergonomic handle has a combination of specifically contoured surfaces and spatially related features including: a proximate end, a knife receiving distal end, an upper grip surface and an oppositely disposed lower grip surface, and oppositely disposed side grip surfaces, with the lower grip surface formed with an index finger engaging surface, and the upper surface formed with a thumb engaging surface, and particularly including in combination with one or more of the following;
(i) the side grip surfaces have respective thumb engaging surfaces to provide universal ergonomic thumb support and protection;
(ii) each aforesaid thumb engaging surface has a like thumb guard portion which is substantially more distally disposed than the index finger engaging surface;
(iii) the distal end has a shallow arcuate surface extending to and contiguous with the respective distal portions of the side thumb guard portions;
(iv) the handle has a central axis, and the index finger engaging surface has a planar portion disposed about perpendicular to the central axis;
(v) the distal end shallow arcuate surface has a radial center disposed in plane perpendicularly disposed to the central axis, which plane is disposed in about the middle of each aforesaid thumb engaging surface; and
(vi) the upper surface proximately disposed of the thumb engaging surface is formed to contour the palm of a closed hand.
In one specific aspect, the invention is an ergonomic poultry knife with a handle as aforesaid including a knife blade having an upper edge which is angularly downwardly disposed about 1xc2x0 to 6xc2x0, and preferably about 3xc2x0 to a horizontal axis. The combination of the ergonomic handle and the downwardly disposed knife handle provides a specifically useful embodiment of the ergonomic poultry knife.